Skip to main content

tv   The Last Word  MSNBC  April 24, 2012 10:00pm-11:00pm EDT

10:00 pm
tonight. we have breaking news in tonight's election coverage. we have a nominee. the associated press is predicting that after tonight's results are in, president obama will have the, 2,778 delegates he needs to secure the democratic nomination for president, but mitt romney has not yet won that republican nomination. when all the votes are counted, mitt romney is expected to gain another 200 delegates after winning all five contests tonight in pennsylvania, connecticut, new york, rhode island, and delaware. in the one state where newt gingrich claimed that he had a slight chance tonight, delaware, mitt romney is expected to win with more than 50% of the vote. with no competition left standing, mitt romney read a teleprompter attack on the president tonight in new hampshire where he trails the president by nine points. >> four years ago, barack obama
10:01 pm
dazzled us in front of greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. but after we came down to earth, after all the celebration and the parades, what do we have to show for 3 1/2 years of president obama? because he has failed, he will run a campaign of diversions and distractions and distortions. that kind of campaign may have worked at another place and in a different time. but not here. and not now. it's still about the economy, and we're not stupid. >> joining me now is steve schmidt, senior adviser to the mccain campaign and an msnbc political analyst. chuck todd, host of msnbc's "the daily rundown", and andrea mitchell, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and the host of msnbc's "andrea mitchell reports." steve, the thing i love about watching a romney speech is just watching him play those
10:02 pm
teleprompters. because he has silenced the republican attack on president obama for using teleprompters. they seemed to have come to an agreement on this. >> i think it's going to be a teleprompter heavy election here. but, look, i think we've watched all of these speeches together through this long primary season. i thought by a hundred miles, this was his best effort. it was the best speech. it was a concise economic argument that i think has the potential to have resonance in the middle of the electorate. and it's something that i think unifies the entire republican -- >> he cleared that very low bar for best romney speech of the season. let's hear a little clip of him talking. it seems like he's reaching, or trying to reach across the gender gap here, talking about single mothers and let's listen to this. >> for every single mom who feels heartbroken when she has to explain to her kids that she needs to take a second job and won't be home as often, for grandparents who can't afford the gas to visit their
10:03 pm
grandchildren anymore, for the mom and dad who never thought they'd be on food stamps. i have a simple message. hold on a little longer. a better america begins tonight. >> chuck todd, he seems to be trying to reach into the middle with that. >> no, look, i agree with steve. i thought this was the best speech that romney's put together so far. you know, he's been trying to pivot to the general election. i think he has a concise general election message, which is simply, you may like president obama, and he was not personally going after the president. he's been trying to walk this line for the last couple of weeks, which is, hey, we know you like him and we were rooting for him and we were all hopeful for him, but it's not working. and that's the message he's trying to sell. basically, look, i know you're not going to like me better than you like him, but maybe you will think that i can imagine the economy better than he did. he has his message. the question is can he stick to
10:04 pm
it, can he stay with it, and can he continue it, or is the obama campaign -- it's not like they're not going to respond to this and they're going to let him go on this road. but i think romney has found his message and found his -- what -- how he can make this go after president obama. >> andrea mitchell, can mitt romney credibly weave sympathy for the american single mom into his speech? >> well, he's trying to, and i think i agree with chuck and steve that this was definitely his best speech. he was pivoting, he was making a turn. and i had the advantage or disadvantage, as the case may be, of watching mitt romney and newt gingrich at the same time on side-by-side screens. it's my job. someone has to do it. and watching newt gingrich making his speech in north carolina tonight, which was completely disjointed and also beginning to signal that he is going to step aside. he said he's sticking to his schedule in north carolina for the coming week, but that they
10:05 pm
are going to -- that he's realistic, that they're going to be thinking things through. that they want to defeat barack obama. that he wants a conservative platform in tampa. so he's beginning to lay out the terms for getting out of this -- it's too late to get out of it gracefully, but he's certainly laying out those terms. and we also heard today that on may 4th, there's going to be that long-awaited meeting with rick santorum and mitt romney, but we're told by the santorum people, not ready to endorse yet. he still wants something and the romney people are frankly getting angrier and angrier and more and more frustrated. and i'm not sure santorum is going to have much bargaining power. >> i don't think he has any leverage. i agree with you, with andrea. i think at this point, this train has left the station. you've got a presumptive nominee. you've got a guy that essentially claimed the nomination. he's going to be the nominee. what does he need rick santorum's blessing at this point? >> this is just timing, isn't it, for both santorum and for
10:06 pm
romney? what is a good time for romney to get a santorum endorsement and what is a good time for santorum to deliver one? >> i think a good time for rick santorum to deliver an endorsement to the republican nominee is like tomorrow morning. >> just get it out of the way. >> get it out of the way. the notion that he's going to go bargain with mitt romney and his campaign for something and he's going to endorse, you know, in fact, i think the romney campaign would be well within their space to refuse to meet with him until he endorses him. they certainly shouldn't meet with him with a gun held to their head. >> chuck, where are we on the math with the delegates for romney? the president officially crossed the line tonight, picking up enough delegates -- >> he's not going to get there until the june 5 primaries? >> but will he? >> yes, he will, because he's been getting these unaffiliated delegates. these endorsements that have gone to him. so his numbers have grown. so he's going to get there. that's not going to be -- he'll have the actual number by the end of the primary season. but i don't understand -- i think santorum is blowing -- if he's not careful here, he's
10:07 pm
going to get a speech at 4:00 in the afternoon in tampa rather than 8:00 at night. i mean, he really is -- while getting out at the right time to preserve his own political future, he's now mishandling this part of it. and perhaps he didn't realize how quickly all of a sudden mitt romney was going to look presumptive. >> andrea, what are the stakes for santorum in terms of his political future on how he handles his next steps? >> he may have already blown it, in fact. because i was told by some people very close to mitt romney that he may not get any kind of speaking date. 4:00 in the morning is a possibility, i guess. but he's not going to get prime-time at the convention. they're already so angry with him. and look at newt gingrich. and also the way that campaign has evolved. he had the improbable run up and down and back up again, and down, but now why is he staying in? and what is this about, other than vanity or ego? a lot of people are asking. >> chuck, the president's up by nine points in new hampshire.
10:08 pm
mitt romney claims new hampshire as one of his residential states. i don't think you can call them home states, but residential states. what does this mean for the president? and new hampshire tells us things about how he must be plays elsewhere. >> i think it tells us a lot about the suburbs. the suburbs of new hampshire and suburbs of boston. and what's been interesting about following new hampshire, six months ago, of all of the battleground states, new hampshire was where the president was performing the worst. new hampshire's always been more hope to a fiscal conservative message. but it also doesn't want to hear, doesn't want to have conversations about social issues. and as the republican primary and that republican conversation turn to contraception, you saw the biggest swing against the republicans came in new hampshire. and i think what we're seeing there -- >> we've got a graph charted right up there where you can see it. >> and i think what you're seeing is that is, that's also telling us what's going on in the philadelphia suburbs, northern virginia, suburbs of denver.
10:09 pm
it's a warning sign to the republicans about how devastating the social issues can be in places, in the suburban areas of the country, where republicans -- romney has to do well to win. >> steve, you're nodding your agreement. >> this is where the southern evangelical brand of the republican party is so lethal. is that new hampshire's a state where the republican legislature just overwhelmingly rejected an effort to repeal the right of gay americans with to be married. so i think that when these issues got introduced in the republican primary, that opened up a lead for the president. and i think that you'll see that lead begin to close to the extent that mitt romney's able to distance himself from the congressional gop brand, which he's going to need to do to become competitive in northeastern states, into the suburban markets, particularly in the collar counties outside of philadelphia, if pennsylvania's to be a competitive state. >> andrea mitchell, what are the odds of the republicans in the house of allowing mitt romney to
10:10 pm
do that? are they going to all stand silently by as mitt romney tries to swerve leftward? >> let me just point out, it's not only on the social issues. the student loan debate, which was engaged this week by the president in these three battleground states, and mitt romney notably yesterday coming back to the microphone at a brief press conference in pennsylvania to say, oh, by the way win support that reauthorization before july 1st, that the student loan interest rates don't double. so basically he and barack obama are on the same side. today i interviewed senator pat toomey from pennsylvania and he will not sign on to extending that student loan rate, the lower rate. and chuck, on his show, interviewed connie mack from florida, and he would not sign on. so you have in the house and the senate, tea party-supporting economic conservatives who are not willing to go as far as mitt romney even on pivoting to the center. >> andrea mitchell and chuck todd, thank you both very much for joining me tonight. steve schmidt's going to hang
10:11 pm
around for more republican analysis. coming up, president obama versus mitt romney this week. they are, as andrea said, fighting over the youth vote with student loans as the issue. we will show you the president talking about student loans on jimmy fallon's show tonight in a way that no politician has ever talked about anything. and rush limbaugh viciously attacked georgetown law student sandra floouke again today in h first response to limbaugh's attack. sandra fluke joins me tonight for an exclusive interview. and on the "rewrite" tonight, a not-so-fond farewell of the presidential candidate rick santorum brought to you by funny or die. with the spark cash card from capital one, sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work?
10:12 pm
oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later,
10:13 pm
i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. plug into the savings you deserve with snapshot from progressive. great! tyler here will show you everything. check out our new mobile app. now you can use your phone to scan your car's vin or take a picture of your license. it's an easy way to start a quote. watch this -- flo, can i see your license? no. well, all right. thanks. okay, here we go. whoa! no one said "cheese." progressive mobile -- insurance has never been easier. get a free quote today.
10:14 pm
do you know mitt romney? >> i've met him, but we're not friends. >> we'll show you more of president obama tonight on "late night with jimmy fallon" later. and rush limbaugh attack ee georgetown law student sandra fluke again today. sandra fluke will join me in an exclusive interview in her first response to the new limbaugh attack. and in the "rewrite" tonight, ashley judd and some of her friends say good-bye to the presidential candidacy of rick santorum in a video produced by our friends at funny or die. that's coming up. [ female announcer ] women move the world. and caltrate moves us. helping strengthen our bones. caltrate delivers 1200 milligrams of calcium
10:15 pm
and 800 iu of vitamin d plus minerals. women need caltrate. caltrate helps women keep moving because women move the world. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. s, how's that possible? [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! wellme that ford dealers sell a new tire like...every five seconds, how's that possible? well, we purchase 3 million a year. you just sold one right now didn't you? that's correct. major brands. 11 major brands. oop,there goes another one. well we'll beat anybody's advertised price. and you just did it right there, what's that called? the low price tire guarantee. wait for it, there goes another one. get a $100 rebate, plus the low price tire guarantee during the big tire event. look at that. it's happening right there every five seconds. your not going to run out are you? no.
10:16 pm
the average student who borrows to pay for college now graduates with about $25,000 in student loan debt. this is something michelle and i know about firsthand. i think there's some talking points about this. i didn't just get a policy briefing on this. >> we're back with coverage of tonight's presidential primary election results, and that was president obama today at the university of north carolina, talking about what has become the issue of the week, with student loans. as reported here last night, it is the first issue mitt romney has chosen to move to the left. romney now says that he agrees with president obama, although he never says he agrees with president obama. he just says that congress should take action to prevent student loan interest rates from rising as they are scheduled to on july 1st. but the president has no intention of giving up his
10:17 pm
advantage on this issue. here he is at the university of colorado moments ago. >> we didn't come from well-to-do backgrounds. we didn't have famous, you know, families. we've been in your shoes. when we graduated from college and law school, we had a mountain of debt, both of us. that means when we got married, we got poorer together. you know, we added our assets together and they were zero. >> we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago. think about that. i'm the president of the united states and, so -- >> tomorrow, president obama will continue his campaign to preserve low student loan interest rates at the university of iowa.
10:18 pm
and earlier tonight, he found another way to make his case on a taping of "late night with jimmy fallon" which will be broadcast on nbc at 12:35 a.m. >> what we said is simple. now is not the time to make school more expensive for our young people. >> oh, yeah. ♪ you should listen to the president. or as i like to call him, the preesy of the united steezy. things are heating up in congress behind all those closed doors. >> joining us now, "huffington post" editorial director and msnbc analyst, howard fineman. howard, we are sitting here watching jimmy fallon laugh at
10:19 pm
the president, and just imagining what it's like when you're sitting there on the romney campaign and thinking, we've got to go out there and fight with this guy over the youth vote. good luck with that. >> somehow i can't imagine, maybe steve can, but i can't imagine mitt romney standing there in between the soul singer in the back and jimmy fallon in the front. i don't think that would work. >> and then the clip we showed of him at dwrooufrt in colorado. he's going to do it again tomorrow in iowa. he was at another university earlier today. it seems like the college campus is the perfect platform for president obama right now, howard. >> sure, he's returning on. we keep saying that the general election campaign has begun, it's finally begun, it's finally begun. it's actually been going on for a while, but today was a good slice of what's happening, on a night where mitt romney essentially locked up the nomination. he went to new hampshire. and barack obama went to a state he won, and to north carolina, to talk to one of his key constituencies, which is young people.
10:20 pm
there have been a lot of polls recently, lawrence, that show while young people still support the president, talking 18 to 29, while they still support the president, they don't support him as overwhelmingly as they did four years ago, and there are some doubts about whether they're all going to turn out. so this is a dredging operation, if you will, by the president going to some key places, big campuses, chapel hill, boulder, et cetera, to really dredge for those votes and the support he had last time around. they're using the internet to do it. i think this may be the first speech in which the president has actually called out a hashtag, you know, #don'tdoublemyrates, and of course they'll try to harvest those names of people they get who go to that hashtag. >> and steve, "don't double my rates" was the hashtag that was in sandra fluke's tweet today that angered rush limbaugh so much. he's now going after her about student loans.
10:21 pm
speaker boehner put it in one of his tweets today. so it looks like the president has actually led the republicans to an agreement on what we should be doing with student loans, but the republicans are going to try to play this in such a way -- is there a way, i guess, for them to play it where the president doesn't end up with the credit here? >> he's going to end up with the credit for it. it's bad politics for republicans to be opposed to it. and just truck by watching the president on the late night show at the college campuses -- >> how would you like to have a candidate like that? >> he's an awfully good campaigner. it's incredible to watch. there's such a gap between republicans and democrats on this stuff. i remember on the bush campaign in 2004, i meant with our entertainment coalition. it was a former juggler and a ringling brothers executive. so, you know, when it comes to, you know, being hip with the culture, you know, we operate at a little bit of a deficit. >> you always have ted nugent. >> howard, we saw mitt romney give what for him was an important campaign speech tonight. compare and contrast what the two have done as candidates
10:22 pm
today, just in their speaking appearances. >> well, i disagree a little bit with my colleagues. i didn't think that was a fabulous speech by mitt romney, but mitt romney's better when he's in control. he's a control guy. he doesn't do well in situations or environments where he isn't in charge. and he's in charge now, at least of the republican nomination, and i think that put some wind in his sails and made him more confident. also, i thought the speech was clever in that it tried to go after the president on the grounds of fairness. the speech repeatedly used the word "fairness" and "unfair" and so on. mitt romney's argument being that it's unfair that the markets aren't unfettered to help people get the kind of jobs they need and so on. and there were some clever lines in there. the one i thought was most clever is where he said, it's still the economy and we're not stupid. that's a pretty powerful line. but it's mechanical, it's the result of speech writers. it's romney at his best when everything is smooth.
10:23 pm
president obama just has a natural gift for being around people and for being on the stage. barack obama loves being on the sta stage. i mean, he was practically doing shtick there about the fact that he's president of the united states and he still had student loans eight years ago. i expect him to do that fred armsten thing where he pulls out a stool and a cigarette and starts riffing into the microphone. >> there's not a long blooper reel of barack obama jokes gone bad on stage. >> there are a few, but not many. >> i want to look at now what the romney move has to be. how difficult it's going to be to move from where he's been on the right side of the republican party to where he might want to go, especially using student loans as an example. i want to listen to something he said in february about student loans. compare that to where he is now, which is basically in agreement with the president and the democrats on student loans. but let's listen as recently as february, this is the way mitt romney talked about student
10:24 pm
loans. >> i just started law school, and they're doing away with unsubsidized loans for grad students with, which makes it almost impossible to pay off our debts, have a house, have a car, have a family before we retire. what are you going to do for people like me? >> i wish i could tell you there was a place to find really free money or cheap money and we could pay for everyone's education. that's just not going to happen. >> steve, that video is going away. every time he makes one of these moves, everyone's going to be playing, here's where he was in february, here's where he was a few months ago. how in the age of this relentless video memory does a candidate make this kind of move that nixon always talked about as if it was very easy. when you go right as a republican in the primaries and then you just go into the center when you have to? >> well, i think the one thing that everyone has a general knowledge about, including the 6% of people that are getting in the middle of the electorate, they're going to decide the outcome of it, is that mitt romney has been on both sides of
10:25 pm
any one of a number of issues. i think that's baked into the cake. i think he's the guy that's already been pushed into the pool, he's wet. i think people are going to make a decision based on something else. look, i think he framed an economic argument tonight that can be effective and can win the presidency. the challenge for him is to stay in that space, to make that argument, to be consistent with it. and the obama campaign's going to derail that argument in any way that they can. and certainly, you know, the fact that he's been on both sides of the issue is is one of the ways to do that. but, you know, i think he made a very effective economic argument tonight. and if he's going to be the president of the united states, he's going to have to win that argument in this election. >> i think he made a wrong economic argument tonight, but he's not arguing with me. he's trying to find 3%, 4% of the vote, right there at the margin, that can tip that way. and the people he's going to tip aren't even going to start listening to that argument until october. so this is just kind of warm-up
10:26 pm
for when they start listening. howard, what do you make of using the student loan maneuver, as we've seen it this week, and as we've seen where romney's come from on it, what do you see in it as a lesson of how romney can move from where he has been, pleasing right-wing voters, to where he needs to go? >> well, i think if i understand steve wright, steve schmidt correctly from the first part of his answer just now, he's basically saying, well, don't worry, mitt romney can always say he's a flip-flopper. you know? and that's going to be his defense. don't worry, folks, that's who i am. those are the many people i are, so don't worry about it. and maybe he can get away with that. i think the bigger problem he's got is in this speech tonight, there wasn't very much specific. now, i know that -- and steve's right. it's going to come down to the last few weeks and that 5 or 6% in six or seven of those twelve swing states, but i think he's got to be a little bit more specific about what his sort of
10:27 pm
takeover plan, what his sort of bain restructuring plan is. and as he gets into those specifics, that's going to open up opportunities for the president to counterpunch. and either mitt romney's going to have to identify with the policies of previous republican administrations in which case the president will attack him on that, say back to the future, which is what they're saying in their e-mails tonight, or mitt romney is going to have to come up with some new ideas. and he's capable of coming up with new ideas. after all, he's the guy who came up with the health care plan. >> thank you, howard. howard fineman, msnbc political analyst, thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you, lawrence. >> steve, hang around, we'll have more on what's happened tonight in the election. coming up, we're also going to have rush limbaugh. rush limbaugh read a tweet today from georgetown law student sandra fluke. that's all he had to do to then immediately launch another vicious attack on her. sandra fluke joins me in an exclusive interview in her first
10:28 pm
response to the new limbaugh attack. and in the rewrite, ashley judd and her supporting cast of co-stars bid a not so fond farewell to the presidential candidacy of rick santorum. and they warn him, they warn him, about the dangers of running for president again. ♪ hey, dad, you think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. [ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ if you made a list of countries from around the world... that's the power of german engineering. ...with the best math scores. ...the united states would be on that list. in 25th place.
10:29 pm
let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the ad of the class. let's solve this. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime.
10:30 pm
how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.
10:31 pm
♪ [ lauer ] this is our team. and unlike other countries, it's built by your donations, not government funding. and now, to support our athletes, you can donate a stitch in america's flag for the 2012 olympic games in london. help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. georgetown law student sandra fluke tweeted something about student loans today that mitt romney agrees with and that
10:32 pm
maybe even john boehner agrees, and so, of course, rush limbaugh viciously attacked her again. sandra fluke joins me in an exclusive interview in her first response to limbaugh's latest crazy attack on her. and in the "rewrite," rick santorum has terminated his presidential campaign and our friends at funny or die think he was a little too reckless this time around. and so they want to sit him down for a little talk about personal responsibility and perhaps abstinence from campaigning. that's in the rewrite,
10:33 pm
an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. oh, wow! that feels really good.
10:34 pm
it's about support where you find it most comfortable. to celebrate 25 years of better sleep-for both of you - sleep number introduces the silver edition bed set, at incredible savings of $1,000 for a limited time. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. [ male announcer ] you plant. you mow. you grow. you dream. meet the new definition of durability: the john deere select series. with endless possibilities, what will you create? ♪ learn more about the new select series x310 with power steering at johndeere.com/x310. [ male announcer ] while others are content to imitate, we'll continue to innovate. the lexus rx. why settle for a copy when you can own the original? see your lexus dealer.
10:35 pm
but not how we get there. because in this business, there are no straight lines. only the twists and turns of an unpredictable industry. so the eighty-thousand employees at delta... must anticipate the unexpected. and never let the rules overrule common sense. this is how we tame the unwieldiness of air travel, until it's not just lines you see... it's the world. i say there's a 2 in 3 chance that we win control of the house again, but there's a 1 in 3 chance that we could lose. i'm being myself, frank, we've
10:36 pm
got a big challenge and we've got work to do. >> joining us now is jonathan capehart, a "washington post" opinion writer and an msnbc analyst. jonathan, i've never heard a speaker say anything other than, of course we're going to keep the majority -- we're going to pick up seats. >> right. >> they always say that. >> they always say that, but maybe john boehner is being a little honest. he did say they have a two-thirds chance of holding the house. but this is going to be a tough election for the president. it's going to be a tough election for the speaker in terms of whether he's going to be able to hold on to the house. it's a lot tougher to hang on to, what was it, 87 seats or however many seats they picked up in 2010, as it is for nancy pelosi and the democrats to pick off enough for her to possibly become speaker again. >> 33 house districts that obama won. that's a statement designed to give him leverage. >> he's not really -- he's talking to his members and
10:37 pm
saying that. >> 100%. and the donor community, we can't make turnovers, can't make fumbles, can't alienate the population of the country. >> the democrats need to pick up 25 of those seats and then they have control of the house. >> jonathan, is the republican house and their voting record and what they've already voted on, is that one of the most important obama re-election campaign tools to marry romney to all those votes in the house? >> it's those votes, and it's the actions of the republicans on capitol hill for the last three years that the president has to use as a weapon against mitt romney to say, look, i've tried. this is the president saying,ive tried to do all of these things, but republicans on capitol hill, whether they were in the minority and certainly when they were in the majority, stopped me or tried to stop me every step of the way. remember, the health care reform law, which may or may not be
10:38 pm
struck down as unconstitutional, but remember, that was -- where were the republican votes on that? there weren't any. >> the president is in colorado tonight now. it's obama versus romney. we know that for the presidency. so here's the president in colorado tonight and let's listen to who he wants to talk about to his audience in colorado. >> this is from a republican congresswoman. i didn't really understand this. i'm quoting her. she said that she has very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with debt, because there's no reason for that. she said, students who rack up student loan debt are just sitting on their butts, having opportunity dumped in your lap.
10:39 pm
[ audience boos ] i can tell you, michelle and i, we didn't take out loans because we were lazy. >> and so, steve, the question becomes, mr. romney, do you agree with republican house member virginia fox that students who take loans are sitting on their butts. >> he's going to be, who? >> that's the presidential candidate, sticking the republican house members on to the republican presidential campaign. >> look, absolutely. they're an unpopular part, the most unpopular part by polling of the most unpopular institution in the country. so, you know, it makes perfect political sense, and i think mitt romney has positioned himself, though, as an outsider in the campaign, apart from washington, and he's going to need to maintain that space. and i think you'll see him at every opportunity where he could put a little bit of distance between himself and the republican congress, you're beginning to see him do it. >> although, who was it just the other day, was it senator rubio who said, you know, mitt romney,
10:40 pm
he's the leader of the republican party. he's the leader of the republican party, especially after tonight. >> he is the leader of the republican party, and if he loses the election, he's the head of the party for the next four years. so it's a balancing act. but he's not going to run as the captain of team washington. he's going to look out for his own political equities and he's going to look for distance where he can get it in these races. >> let's listen to the president again, who's trying to make him the captain of team washington. here he is at unc chapel hill, telling the students about the republicans in washington, their records on the issues that these students care about. >> these folks in washington were serious about making college more affordable. they wouldn't have voted for a budget that could cut financial aid for tens of millions of college students by an average of more than a thousand dollars. they say, well, we've got to bring down the deficit. of course, this is the deficit they helped run up over the past
10:41 pm
decade, didn't pay for two wars, didn't pay for two massive tax cuts, and now this is the reason why you want students to pay more? they just voted to keep giving billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies that are raking in record profits. they just voted to let millionaires and billion nars keep paying lower tax rates than middle class workers and their secretaries. >> they just voted for all that. now answer that, mr. romney. >> who didn't vote for it, but you say you're in favor of it. >> right. you know, this student loan debate issue is something i wrote about. when the payroll tax cut deal was finally done. i said, now that they've got -- now that the republicans have found their way out of the box that they've painted themselves in, they have one coming up in june on student loans. and what the president is doing, he is pitting the gop once again against the middle class.
10:42 pm
against people for whom these student loans are vital. they're essential. if these children are to go to college, and you know, keep climbing the rungs of, you know, the ladder to the american dream. so we'll soon see if what happened in december plays out again, particularly in june, with the president paying the gop into a corner. >> i want to hear one more thing that speaker boehner said about the re-election chances in the house. just because i find this so surprisingly frank. he's talking about the endangered members in his group, calling some of them orphans. let's listen to this. >> we have 50 of our members in tough races. 89 freshman, running for their first re-election. >> that's a lot. >> and we have 32 districts that are in states where there's no presidential campaign going to be run, no big senate race. and we call these orphan districts. >> it's like listening to
10:43 pm
charlie cook doing this straight math thing. the guy who knows more about house elections than anybody else. where is the, "we're going to win" in all of that? >> i defer to steve on this. i am now fascinated. >> look, i think that this is a -- i think that this is an appeal for discipline and basically to the conference, you guys need to do -- >> but these guys who are in the orphan districts, don't they know they're orphans? do they have to be hold on national television by the speaker, hey, you have a tricky district to win. >> look, i think this is a reflection -- obviously, my interpretation of it, there are internal conversations that are going on, which is we're going to hold control, unless we do. and they're worried about it. you have the robert draper book that's coming out. i think that points out a lot of the attentions that have played out over the last few years. it's going to be a great book. i'm dying to read it. i can't wait to read it. but when you read that book, you understand perfectly why he's saying that. that is a message to the republican conference about being disciplined, about being
10:44 pm
focused, about being politically smart. >> i've never heard a speaker delivering his message to the caucus on national television. i thought they had a room for that where they close the door. >> and not just national television, fox. that's as close as you're going to get to an internal meeting. >> exactly. steve schmidt and jonathan capehart, thank you both very much for joining me tonight. >> thanks, lawrence. >> good to see you. coming up, our friends at funny or die have a few procedures they'd like rick santorum to go through before he is allowed to finally terminate his campaign. among other things, they would like to force him to look at a sonogram of his campaign before he ends it. and sandra fluke is with us again tonight in an exclusive interview, this time to respond to rush limbaugh's new vicious attack against her today. all it took to get limbaugh attacking her again today was a very simple tweet that could only anger rush limbaugh.
10:45 pm
or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in new credit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. laces? really?
10:46 pm
slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] get the mileage card with special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in.
10:47 pm
rush limbaugh is following sandra fluke. well, he's following her tweets, anyway. and something she tweeted today became the starting point of another vicious limbaugh attack against the georgetown law student. sandra fluke will join me in an exclusive interview in her first response to limbaugh's attack against her. and in the rewrite tonight, our friends at funny or die have a sort of exit interview kind of a thing in mind for rick santorum, as he terminates his presidential campaign. they would like him to look at a sonogram of his campaign before he makes that final termination. that's next. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet?
10:48 pm
by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions.
10:49 pm
the right approach is to accept this horribly created in the sense of rape, but nevertheless, gift, in a very broken way, but gift of human life. we have to make the best out of a bad situation. >> well, thanks to mitt romney, it looks like we won't have rick santorum to kick around anymore. with romney's virtual lock on the republican presidential nomination, the time has come to say good-bye to the also rands, but the farewells won't all be
10:50 pm
fond, thanks not gang at funny or die. >> oh, um, mr. santorum, take a seat. >> i understand you'd like to terminate your candidacy, and i am sure, pumpkin, that is a very hard decision for you. >> i'm sorry. >> if you weren't mature enough to carry your candidacy to term, you shouldn't have begun in the risky behavior that began it. >> but you made a mistake. >> and the last thing you knew, a good-looking rich man took advantage of it. >> not your fault. >> some people might say you were asking for it. i'm not saying that, but people are. >> i guess adoption is out of the question. no one in their right mind would want you as a running mate. >> the financial burden, the risk o your political clear. there is a lot at stake. >> i'm so glad you could step out of the race with your reputation and life in tact. >> but did you, say, make the best out of a bad situation? >> i'm not judging you, though. >> that's not me. >> i mean, you're a grown man running for president and i'm just a woman who's never worked
10:51 pm
in politics and couldn't possibly understand what you're going through. i mean, what am i doing even talking to you about this. but here with we are. >> the law requires me to tell you that as early as six weeks a candidacy can have living, breathing supporters. >> and before doing anything, i'll need your parental consent form. >> and you're going to have to listen to your campaign manager's heart. >> and of course, you'll have to look at a sonogram of your campaign. >> i'm ready to lead. i'm ready. >> shhh. >> you'll also have to watch this. >> if you can't win -- >> it hurts. >> i am not a politician. >> because people have got to know -- >> i am suspending -- suspending -- suspending -- >> and endorsing -- >> a crook. >> suspending my presidential campaign. >> we will suspend our campaign today. >> okay. we'll finalize after this after the mandatory 72-hour waiting period. >> and be careful on your way out. there are some really angry people out there. >> please, take one of these. >> prayerfully consider what it has to say. >> i don't want to have this
10:52 pm
conversation in another 48 months. >> just go ahead and stay out. ♪ [ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. at home, i challenge that in one easy step with olay. total effects tone corrector.
10:53 pm
7 anti-aging therapies for younger looking skin including an even skin tone, instantly. from olay. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price.
10:54 pm
i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro.
10:55 pm
what a coincidence, barack obama just warned the students at the university of north carolina that interest rates on federal student loans will double if congress doesn't act by july 1st. they'll go from 3.4% to 6.8%. word for word what sandra fluke just tweeted herself. >> well, no, it wasn't exactly word for word. here's what sandra fluke tweeted. "don't double my rate. many students will see the
10:56 pm
interest rate on fed student loans increase if congress doesn't act by 7/1". now, nothing provocative there, unless, of course, you're rush limbaugh. >> sandra fluke is just a poor, isolated, alone little college student, worried about her contraception at georgetown. but now she's represented by the flakes in the white house, hilary rosen, who need it done, and they're coordinating with with obama, scaring students about the interest rates on their student loans. so contraception isn't enough. some people want their education paid for by other people too. >> joining me now for an exclusive interview is sandra fluke, responding for the first time to rush limbaugh's newest attack against her. sitting here, watching you watch him on our monitor, it amazes me, the grace with which you
10:57 pm
bear this. i almost don't know where to begin. but what is it like? you tweet this thing about student loans. you have the don't double my rate, which, by the way, appears in a john boehner tweet today. >> yeah, it's the hashtag everyone's been using. >> when you tweet this, you think, oh, i'm tweeting right into rush's strike zone, like, he's going to attack me. >> yeah, i didn't realize this was a political fireball. >> you know, rush is a college dropout. he did no more than two semesters. that second semester he did, he didn't really show up for much. so he doesn't know that much about how higher education is financed and how student loans work. what doesn't -- what does he need to know that he doesn't knee? >> well, for starters, he seems to have become confused by his own propaganda. he's called me a college coed so many times he doesn't know i'm a law school student. so this policy is very important for college students, not for graduate students. it's for students who are going into college and getting new loans, not those of us who have
10:58 pm
them. and it's really important to keep these interest rates low, because if this economy, having an affordable education is so crucial for so many young americans. and if congress doesn't act by this july, it will become more expensive to get a college education. >> and on july 1st, the rate basically doubles for some people, from 3 point something to 6 point sympathetic. >> it goes from 3.4 to 6.8%. and this is for students who qualify for subsidized stafford loans through the federal government. so these are students with need-based concerns, who are from lower income families and are trying to go to college, yes. >> and that is right out of financial margin that it can make a difference. when you have thousand-dollar differences in price tags at that economic level, it can be absolutely prohibitive. >> yes. this policy difference makes about a thousand dollars a year difference to those students and their families, and they found that for the average of the students who qualify for these types of loans, that's about
10:59 pm
20%. a lot of them are going to state colleges, not paying the really exceptionally high tuition, and it makes a big difference for those students. >> it feels foolish to waste time on this, but to deal with rush's conspiracy theory, hilary rosen or someone at the white house dictated that tweet to you. you weren't really concerned about student loans yourself in any way, until they told you what to say, right? >> let me lay this out real simply. if i want to find out what president obama is saying, i do it the same way everybody else does, i google it, okay? that's my source of information. so, no, i didn't have any prior planning with anyone at the white house. i'm concerned about student loans because i'm a young person who has student loans and i have friends who have these types of student loans and who are struggling to pay them back and to find jobs. that's why i was concerned about it. >> sandra fluke, sorry you had to go through another day of being rushed by rush limbaugh. thank you very much for joining me tonight. >> thanks for having me. coming up tomorrow on